Qualifying for the Korean Grand Prix began with a certain sense of
inevitability – after sebastian Vettel’s strong showing in FP3, the
general belief was that Red Bull would be dominant once again.
Esteban Gutierrez was the first to set a timed lap in the first stage of
qualifying, but the Mexican was soon outshone by more experienced
drivers from the bigger teams. As has been the case on most Saturdays
in recent memory, Red Bull were the last team to send their drivers out
on track in Q1 – unconcerned about being knocked out, saving tyres for
Sunday is the team’s qualifying strategy.
Mercedes and Ferrari were strong early on, while Jenson Button
delivered a decent showing for McLaren, but once Vettel was unleashed
from the garage there was little anyone could do but bow to the inevitable.
Mark Webber claimed P3 on his first timed lap; the Australian needed
as strong a qualifying session as possible to make up for the ten-place
grid penalty carried over from Singapore. Despite being safe near the top
of the grid, Vettel elected to run again in Q1, crossing the line in P2 and
displacing Gutierrez, who had delivered an impressive 1m38.725s lap.
After an unusual flurry of runs on the supersofts during Q1, all eyes
were on the Q2 strategy calls when the pit lane opened. And the red runs
continued, thanks in part to the high deg levels that make the supersofts
the weaker option during Sunday’s race.
Ferrari were early pacesetters, while Gutierrez and Nico Hulkenberg
continued Sauber’s run of form. Mercedes had the top slots on the
timesheets when the session was two-thirds complete, but it was at that
point that the Red Bull pair started their first timed laps.
Force India struggled for much of Q1, and Q2 was no different, with
both drivers spending the session languishing in the dropout zone with
the Toro Rosso pair. Jean-Eric Vergne went out for only one timed effort, a
risky strategy that left the Frenchman in P16 when the chequered flag fell.
With the ants marching two by two all afternoon, it was the driver
pairings from Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, Lotus, and Sauber who were
left to fight it out in Q3. Breaking with tradition, Vettel and Webber were
early out of the pits. Hamilton and Rosberg set early laps, but couldn’t best
Webber’s first effort of a 1m37.464s, while Vettel went straight to the top
with a 1m37.202s.
With two minutes remaining, all 10 drivers were out on track, nine of
them doing their futile best to fight off the inevitable. An inevitability it
proved to be, with Vettel able to abort his second run, delivering another
commanding performance to secure pole.
On the following pages, Trent Price takes a closer look at the incidents
that shaped the 2013 Korean Grand Prix, from the Lotus battle, the
second Safety Car snafu and beyond...
QUALIFYING
1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1m37.202s
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1m37.420s
3. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) 1m37.531s
4. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1m37.679s
5. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1m38.038s
6. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1m38.223s
7. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) 1m38.237s
8. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) 1m38.405s
9. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) 1m38.822s
10. Sergio Perez (McLaren) 1m38.362s
11. Jenson Button (McLaren) 1m38.365s
12. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) 1m38.417s
13. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1m37.464s*
14. Adrian Sutil (Force India) 1m38.431s
15. Paul di Resta (Force India) 1m38.718s
16. J-E Vergne (Toro Rosso) 1m383.781s
17. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1m39.470s
18. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) 1m39.987s
19. Charles Pic (Caterham) 1m40.864s
20. Giedo vd Garde (Caterham) 1m40.871s
21. Max Chilton (Marussia) 1m41.322s
22. Jules Bianchi (Marussia) 1m41.169s**
ONE IS ENOUGH, AGAIN
THE GRId
* Mark Webber qualified in P3, but started from P13 thanks to a 10-place grid penalty incurred
for collecting his third reprimand of the season in Singapore.
** Jules Bianchi qualified in P21, but started from P22 thanks to a 3-place grid penalty
incurred for impeding Paul di Resta in qualifying.
HAPPY CHAPS!
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F1 >>> KOREA